Be open and discreet
November 15, 2007 – 1:04 pmIf you haven’t heard of it, I recommend you have a look at Ideas that can change the world. It’s a wonderful concept whereby adults listen to the ‘youth’ and hear their ‘ideas’, and where suitable, take them forward. There’s more to it than that obviously, so go look at the site and take action. I had the great pleasure of going to the launch event last Tuesday and got to sit down and have a genuine laugh with some 6 (ish?) year olds among other activities.
Someone there cracked something I have been wrestling with for some time around the Public/private/personal/political balance.
In this time of global reach and perpetual archives, we are learning that things we say online will be kept somewhere, forever; we can’t take it back, and it wasn’t neccesarily private.
I love the Facebook status updates because I get a glimpse into my friends’ minds, but I also see people using them perhaps too openly, perhaps without understanding the implications of revealing their inner thoughts. I’m a master of indiscretion so have to be careful but I can’t help myself from sharing things; it’s impulsive, so how can I reveal the right stuff but not the wrong stuff?
One of the people with an idea which the Ideas project has helped is called Kunle. He is sixteen, loves electronics and had an idea. Creative Partnerships (the people behind Ideas that can…) put him in touch with a 50 something inventor called Joel. They have been working on this idea together for a year.
They were being interviewed about the things which made their relationship work which was brilliant, but the best bit for me was something Kunle said when he was asked about what behaviours he thought were useful during this process. He said that it was vital
“… to be open and discreet at the same time”
Brilliant. Proper wisdom.
One Response to “Be open and discreet”
I’m so glad that phrase rang out for you Ed. It did for me too. When Kunle carved that small phrase out of the late afternoon air last Friday in my studio down in Barnes it cut through like a knife. (Someone told me recently that the thing about being listened to is that you become articulate.) For me, Saskia’s phrase that “there is going to be a too late” is another example of how beautifully young minds use language sometimes. Grammatical correctness can be a hell of a hindrance sometimes.
All the best to you and thanks for coming on Tuesday.
If anyone wants to check out the film you’ll find it (in four parts) on youtube.com/thedialogueproject
Karl James
By Karl James on Nov 16, 2007